The San Diego Padres were just swept by the Milwaukee Brewers after blowing a three-run lead in the series finale, adding to their disastrous season so far. Amid the MLB Playoffs looking less and less likely for the Padres, rumors are starting to heat up surrounding a potential trade of star Juan Soto, reports USA Today's Bob Nightengale.
“Several GMs are now predicting that the Padres have no choice but to trade outfielder Juan Soto after their horrific season, particularly having no TV deal and Soto seeking at least $500 million in free agency after the 2024 season.”
Juan Soto is certainly a premiere player that is going to covet a massive contract once his MLB free agency arrives during the winter of 2024, so these rumors could definitely have some merit.
The Padres aren't necessarily out of the NL playoff picture as of now, but they are definitely a long-shot. At 61-70, the NL West is not even a consideration at this point, while they are currently eight games back of the Arizona Diamondbacks in the final wild card spot.
As the playoffs become less likely, the Padres are becoming more and more of a disappointment. On paper, they have one of the more talented teams in baseball, with guys like Soto, Manny Machado, Fernando Tatis Jr and Xander Bogaerts. Nevertheless, the struggles have been real, and they find themselves nine games under .500 with the calendar about to flip into September.
Stay tuned into the rest of the MLB regular season to see if the Padres make a late run at the postseason. This looks like a very high impossibility, and missing the playoffs might indicate a Juan Soto trade this offseason.